Tomorrow is the official publication date of my book, “Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy†(The New Press). It’s designed to serve as a warning to those who believe that the “new media†will automatically provide the basis for a more democratic communications system in the U.S. At its core is an expose of the stealth mechanism promoting personal consumption that is at the foundation of our digital system. For the majority of us, wherever we go—online, in the street via mobile devices, and while viewing digital TV, we will be digitally tracked, profiled and targeted. Our privacy will be further eroded in the process. Unless we create safeguards and other measures, the most powerful media system ever created will primarily be a force for self-gratification and acquiring products (along with the selling of politicians and a spate of ideologies, no doubt). More on this point to follow.
Digital Destiny also chronicles the paid-for by industry nonprofit groups that help support an agenda designed to weaken the public interest. It covers the endless chain of academics, universities, revolving door officials, and think tanks that help prop up media industry power. In that sense, it “names name’s.â€
It also covers the battles over media ownership, broadband access (network neutrality), and offers a modest agenda for the U.S. media future.
